News outlet, the New York Times has purchased the popular word game Wordle

The New York Times purchased the popular word game for an undisclosed seven-figure sum.

The free and simple game was created by software engineer Josh Wardle and was released last October. It now boasts millions of players.

Mr Wardle released a comment stating that the game’s success had been “a little overwhelming”, and that he was “incredibly pleased” to announce the deal with the New York Times.

The newspaper publisher stated the game would initially remain free to play

The game challenges players to find a five-letter word in six guesses.

A new puzzle is published every day and players can post how quickly they solved the colourful grid on social media.